System and Method for Uninterrupted Learning Using a Touch Screen Display Device

ABSTRACT

An uninterrupted learning uses a touch screen display device when connections to networks are unavailable or unstable. The touch screen display device is equipped with short range and long range communication capabilities in addition of capable being a WiFi hotspot. The touch screen display device incorporates the features of both the adaptive server and the teacher device. The adaptive server feature in the touch screen display device can communicate with a remote server through a local area network and switch to a cellular telecommunication network when the local area network is unavailable. The adaptive server can also act as the WiFi base station and accept connections from nearby student devices.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based learningsystem, and more specifically to a system for network tolerant learningsystem.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Most of computer-based learning systems currently available consist ofportable computers loaded with learning material for students to use.The learning material may be downloaded from a remote server. Thestudents use the learning material individually and independently. Thereis no interaction with teachers and the learning is not interactive.

Some computer-based learning systems allow the broadcasting of thelearning material from the remote server onto the portable computersused by the students. Usually, these systems are also not interactiveand are not available when the connection of the portable computers tothe remote server is not available. FIG. 1 depicts a traditionalcomputer-based learning system 100. The system 100 usually consists of aremote ser 102 that is accessible by student devices 114, 116, 118,which can be laptops, tablet computers, mobile phones, or other mobiledevice. The server 102 is also accessible to teacher using a laptop 106or any other computing device connected to a network 120. Normally, ateacher prepares teaching material 104 on his or hers computer 106 anduploads the material 104 to the remote server 102. This teachingmaterial 104 can be downloaded onto the student devices. The studentscan study the teaching material 104 individually and separately and canpractice the tests that may be in the teaching material 104. Thestudents provide their answers 108, 110, 112 on their student devices.If the tests are in format of multiple choices, the application runningon the student devices generally checks the answers in real time andthen sends the answers and the grading back to the remote server 102. Ifthe tests are in format of essays and these essays are later uploadedonto the remote server 102. The teacher downloads the student answersfrom the remote server 102 and grades them. As it can be seen by theabove description, the learning is not interactive and not in real timeand the teacher has no opportunity to evaluate the student learning.

The aforementioned disadvantages prevent the computer-based learningsystems from achieving the potential benefit that they may provide andit is to a system that enables the students to fully benefit from thecomputer-based learning system that the present application is primarilydirected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to overcome the aforementioneddisadvantages of conventional methods. The present invention provides amethod for providing an uninterrupted teaching session through use of atouch screen display device equipped with a short range communicationunit, a long range communication unit, and a controller. The methodcomprises determining, by the controller, a status of a connection to aremote server via the short range communication unit, determining, bythe controller, a status of a connection to the remote server via thelong range communication unit, turning on, by the short rangecommunication unit, a WiFi base station capability if the connection tothe remote server via the short range communication unit is unavailableand a connection to the remote server via the long range communicationunit is also unavailable, and communicating, via the WiFi base stationcapability, with at least one student device.

The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer readablememory have a set of computer-executable instructions, which, whenexecuted by a controller in a touch screen display device, cause thetouch screen display device to determine, by the controller, a status ofa connection to a remote server via a short range communication unit inthe touch screen display device, determine, by the controller, a statusof a connection to the remote server via a long range communication unitin the touch screen display device, turn on, by the short rangecommunication unit in the touch screen display device, a WiFi basestation capability if the connection to the remote server via the shortrange communication unit is unavailable and a connection to the remoteserver via the long range communication unit is also unavailable, andcommunicate, via the WiFi base station capability, with at least onestudent device.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become better understood from a careful readingof a detailed description provided herein below with appropriatereference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be understood in more detail by reading thesubsequent detailed description in conjunction with the examples andreferences made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a traditional computer-based learning system 100;

FIG. 2 illustrates architecture of a system 200 according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the system 300 of the present invention that supportsan uninterrupted learning setting when the LAN is not available orstable;

FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario 400 when there is no connection to a localarea network and the connection 236 to the telecommunication network 238is not available or unstable;

FIG. 5 depicts the adaptive server 230 offering a teaching materialdevelopment platform;

FIG. 6 illustrates a scenario 600 in which the adaptive server 230 isused for a client device 608 to develop any client content 602;

FIG. 7 is an illustration 700 of a teacher device 702 interfaced withone or more student devices 718;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 for supporting multiple connections;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 for an interactive teaching session;

FIG. 10 is a process 1000 for supporting uninterrupted learning; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary architecture 1100 for the adaptiveserver 1102 of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The technology described in this application enables provides a platformfor computer-based interactive learning system that can function evenwhen connections to a remote server is not stable or available. FIG. 2illustrates architecture of a system 200 according to the presentinvention. The system 200 comprises an adaptive server 230 incommunication, through the Internet 202, with one or more cloud servers203. The adaptive server 230 is equipped with communications devicesthat enables the adaptive server 230 to communicate either wired orwirelessly through a router 232 of a local area network and also throughcellular communication to a cellular telecommunication network. Thoughnot shown in FIG. 2, the adaptive server 230 is further capable ofserving as a WiFi station (aka hotspot mode) and communicating withmultiple student devices through WiFi. In the hotspot mode, the adaptiveserver 230 functions as a router/gateway for the student devices and theteacher devices. Normally the adaptive server 230 is connected eitherthrough a cable or wirelessly to a router 232 connected to a local areanetwork (LAN) and continuously updates the teaching material that isbeing used.

In one embodiment, the adaptive server 230 communicates with one or morestudent devices 224, 226, 228, and also with a teacher device 206 whenthe student devices 224, 226, 228, and the teacher device 206 are on thesame LAN. The adaptive server 230 enables the teacher device 206 toupload the teaching material 204 to the cloud servers 203. The studentdevices and the teacher device 206 can be portable telephones, tabletcomputers, laptop computers, regular desktop computers, or othersuitable mobile devices. The adaptive server 230 also transmits theteaching material 204 to the student devices 224, 226, 228 and receivesthe student answers 208, 220, 222 from the student devices and sendsthem to the teacher device 206. The adaptive server 230 maintains theconnection to the cloud servers 203 and continuously downloads theteaching material 204 from the cloud servers 203 and stores in a memoryin the adaptive server 230. The adaptive server 203 also uploads thestudent's input and answers to the cloud server 203.

In another embodiment, the student devices 224, 226, 228, and theteacher device 206 communicate directly with the cloud servers 203 andthe adaptive server 230 is in the standby condition. The adaptive server230 will communicate with the cellular telecommunication network if theadaptive server 230 detects that the LAN is not available.

The setting shown in FIG. 2 usually works well in locations where theLAN is available and stable. However, the connection to the LAN may beunstable in some locations. FIG. 3 illustrates the system 300 of thepresent invention that supports an uninterrupted learning setting whenthe LAN is not available or stable. When the connection 234 from therouter 232 to the Internet 202 is not available, the adaptive server 230will set up a connection 236 to the cellular telecommunication network238 of a telecommunication service provider and then communicate withthe cloud servers 203 through the Internet 202. After the connection tothe cloud servers 203 is set up, the adaptive server 230 turns on theWiFi capability and serves as a hotspot to the student devices 224, 226,228 and the teacher device 206. A notification is sent to the studentdevices 224, 226, 228 and the teacher device 206 and these devices canthen switch their connections to connect to the adaptive server 230. Theswitching of connection from the adaptive server 230 to the cloudservers 203 through the cellular telecommunication network 238 may beinitiated automatically by the adaptive serve 230 upon detecting the LANbeing unavailable or unstable and may also be initiated through acommand received from the teacher device 206 or by manually entering acommand at the adaptive server 230.

The present invention is particularly useful in areas where there is noconnection to a LAN and the connection to the telecommunication networkis unstable or unavailable. FIG. 4 illustrates a scenario 400 when thereis no connection to a local area network and the connection 236 to thetelecommunication network 238 is not available or unstable. If thisscenario 400 happens during a teaching session and the teacher elects tocontinue the teaching session in the offline mode, the adaptive device230 will support the teaching session in the offline mode bybroadcasting the teaching material stored in the local memory and alsoreceiving inputs and answers from the student devices. The receivedinputs and answers are stored in the local memory of the adaptive server230 and transmitted to the cloud servers 203 when either the connection236 is available or the connection via the router 232 is available.

As described above, the adaptive server 230 enables a teacher to conducta teaching uninterruptedly when the connection to the LAN or to thecellular network is unavailable. The adaptive server 230 accomplishesthis uninterrupted feature by acting as a platform and allows thecommunication between the teacher device and the student devices andalso by storing in the local storage the teaching material downloadedfrom a cloud server.

Though the adaptive server 230 and the teacher device 206 are describedabove as two separate devices, in one alternative embodiment, theadaptive server 230 and the teacher device 206 can be one single device.

FIG. 5 depicts the adaptive server 230 offering a content editingplatform 502 that enables the teacher to develop the teaching material204. The teaching material 204 can be saved to the cloud servers 203.The adaptive server 230 can also be used for applications other thanteaching and learning. FIG. 6 illustrates a scenario 600 in which theadaptive server 230 is used for a client device 608 to develop anyclient content 602. The platform 606 in the adaptive server 230 enablesthe client device to develop specific application using resources storedin database 604. The database 604 may be local to the adaptive server230 or located in the cloud. The developed client content 602 can belater downloaded by other user devices.

Besides supporting an uninterrupted learning platform, the system of thepresent invention is specially designed to support an interactivelearning environment. FIG. 7 is an illustration 700 of a teacher device702 interfaced with one or more student devices 718. After logging in,the teacher will see a screen 704 with a list of lessons 706 that areavailable from the cloud servers 203. The teacher will also see an area710 that includes several student display areas 712, one student displayarea 712 for each student. Each student display area 712 has a studentinformation area 726 and a student answer area 716. Each student displayarea 712 is connected to a connection port in the teacher device 702 andthis connection port provides a virtual direct connection to a studentdevice 718. The student information area 726 may display one or moreindicators of the status of the student. The information area 726 willalso show the photo 714 of the student. The teacher may select a lesson706 for a particular teaching session and the content of this lesson 706will be downloaded from the cloud server 203 onto the memory of theteacher device 702. The same content will also be broadcasted to thestudent devices 718 that are “present” at the teaching session.

The student device 718 has a display screen 720 that has a lesson area728 and an answer area 730. The lesson will be displayed on the lessonarea 728, and the student can interact with the teacher during theteaching session by entering questions or answers in the answer area730. The information entered by the student in the answer area 730 willbe displayed on the student answer area 716.

The adaptive server 230 according to the present invention being able tosupport uninterrupted learning session is due to the capability of theadaptive server 230 to communicate with a local area network and acellular network, and the capability to act as a WiFi Base station andto accept connections from the student devices. FIG. 8 is a flowchart800 for supporting multiple connections. The adaptive server 230 checkswhether it is connected to a local area network (LAN), step 802. If theadaptive server 230 is not connected to the LAN, the adaptive server 230will connect to a cellular telecommunication network, step 804, andcommunicate to a remote server through the data channel in the cellulartelecommunication network. After connecting to the cellulartelecommunication network, the adaptive server 230 turns on a WiFitransmitter, step 806, so the adaptive serve 230 may act as a WiFi basestation and communicate via WiFi with the student devices. The adaptiveserver 230 will connect to the remote server, step 808, and acceptconnections from the student devices and teacher devices, step 810. Theadaptive server 230 can be connected to the LAN and then communicatewith the remote server, step 808, and accept the connections from thestudent devices and the teacher devices, step 810.

After being in communication with the remote server, the studentdevices, and the teacher device, the adaptive server 230 can support aninteractive teaching session. FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 for aninteractive teaching session. After the students and the teacher loginto their respective devices, step 902, the adaptive server 230 checksif the teaching material is downloaded from the remote server, step 904.If the teaching material has not been downloaded yet, the adaptiveserver 230 will download the teaching material from the remote server,step 906, and then broadcast the teaching material to the studentdevices and the teacher device, step 908. The students may sendquestions or provide answers during the teaching session and the inputsfrom the student devices are sent to the adaptive server 230, step 910,and the adaptive server 230 will forward the student inputs to theteacher device, step 912. The teacher can also use his/hers teacherdevice to send messages or additional material to all the studentdevices. The input from the teacher device is received by the adaptiveserver 230, step 914, which will forward the input to all the studentdevices or a particular student device, step 916. By being able tospecify which student device should receive the input, the teacher mayprovide a second chance to a particular student during a quiz if thestudent has provided a wrong answer initially.

Besides the interactive teaching session, the adaptive server 230 cansupport uninterrupted learning in which the teaching session is notinterrupted because of network unavailability or instability. FIG. 10 isa process 1000 for supporting uninterrupted learning. While the adaptiveserver 230 conducting a lecture, step 1002, the adaptive server 230continuously checks the availability of the LAN, step 1004. If the LANis not available, the adaptive server 230 checks whether the cellularnetwork is available, step 1006. If the cellular network is available,the adaptive server 230 starts to communicate with the remote server,step 1008, and turns on the WiFi circuitry to act as a WiFi basestation, step 1010, and starts to accept WiFi connection requests fromthe student devices and the teach device. If the cellular network is notavailable, the adaptive server 230 checks if the teacher has elected toenter into the offline mode, step 1012. If the teacher elected to enterthe offline mode, the adaptive server 230 turns on the WiFi base stationcapabilities and starting to communicate with the student devices andthe teach device. The teaching session can continue with the teachingmaterial previously downloaded from the remote server. The adaptiveserver 230 continuously monitors the status of the LAN and the cellularnetwork, when connection to the remote server through either one ofthese networks is available, the adaptive server 230 downloadsadditional teaching material from the remote server and uploads inputsfrom the student devices and the teaching device to the remote serverfor storage. The scenario described above illustrates that theinstability of network connections will not interrupt the teachingsession using the system of the present invention.

Though the adaptive server 230 and the teacher device are described asseparately devices, in an alternative embodiment, the teacher device mayincorporate the features of the adaptive server and in effect, makingthe teacher device and the adaptive server one single device. FIG. 11illustrates an exemplary architecture 1100 for the adaptive server 1102of the present invention. The adaptive server 1102 has a communicationunit that includes a circuitry for long range communication 1106 and acircuitry for short or medium range communication 1108. The long rangecommunication circuitry 1106 is capable of communicating with a cellulartelecommunication network and the short or medium range communicationdevice 1108 is capable of communicating through of one or more short ormedium range communication protocols. Example protocols includeDedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC), WI-Fl®, BLUETOOTH®,infrared, infrared data association (IRDA), near field communications(NFC), the like, or improvements thereof. The short range communicationdevice 1108 also supports a wired connection to a local area network aswell as becoming a hotspot provider (WiFi base). The adaptive server1102 further includes a controller 1110, a display device 1114, a memory1112, and an input device 1116. The display device 1114 displaysteaching material or messages to the user. The input unit 1116 enables auser (a teacher) to enter messages or other input. The memory 1112 is anon-transitory memory and capable of storing the teaching materialdownloaded from the remote server and also the program instructions thatsupport different features of the present invention. The controller 1110controls the operation of the adaptive server and determines the statusof connections to the cloud servers via different connections.

Although FIG. 11 illustrates components in the adaptive server 230 asseparate hardware circuitries, it is understood that these componentsmay be combined and also these components may be implemented by programinstructions executed by the controller 1110.

In one embodiment, both the adaptive server 230 and the teacher devicecan reside on a single touch screen display equipped with the WiFicapabilities, the local area connections (LAN), such as Ethernetconnections, and the cellular communication capabilities. The cellularcommunication capabilities may be acquired through a portable deviceconnected to the touch screen display device and the cellularcommunication capabilities enables the touch screen display device toconnect to the Internet through a data channel in the cellularconnection to one of the network carriers' network. The teachingmaterial can be downloaded from a remote server either through thecellular network or through the LAN; alternatively, the teachingmaterial may also be made available to the touch screen display devicethrough a portable storage device, such as a USB storage device,connected to one of the communication ports on the touch screen displaydevice, such as a USB port. The portable storage device may be aportable library with the content encrypted and indexed, such that onlypreviously selected teaching material is made available to the lecture.

The uninterrupted learning system of the present invention isparticularly useful for teaching in the areas where the cellularcommunication and the Ethernet communication are not available. Ateacher may carry a touch screen display device and a portable storagedevice with teaching material to a remote village where communication tothe cellular network or the Internet may not be readily available and beable to lecture efficiently to a group of students, each student havinga portable student device, such as an iPAD™. After the teaching materialis made available to the touch screen display device, the teacher canenable the hotpot capability on the touch screen display device andstart to lecture even when there is no connection to the cellularnetwork or to the Internet. The teacher can use the touch screen displaydevice to conduct his lecture; he can control the lecture and theteaching material through the touch screen display device. The inputs,translated from the touches sensed by the touch screen display device,are interpreted by a controller in the touch screen display device andappropriate commands are then executed according to the detected inputs.As described in FIG. 7, each student area is connected to acommunication port of the touch screen display device.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions andmodifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, andothers will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, allsuch substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced withinthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It isunderstood that features shown in different figures and described indifferent embodiments can be easily combined within the scope of theinvention.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems andmethods described without departing from the scope of the disclosure.The components of the systems and methods described may be integrated orseparated according to particular needs. Moreover, the operations of thesystems and methods described may be performed by more, fewer, or othercomponents without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Different terms have been used in this description and many of them havesame interpretation. For example, cellular network, cellulartelecommunication network, and telecommunication network are usedinterchangeably. WiFi connection and local area network connection areused interchangeably. Cloud server and remote server are usedinterchangeably. Teaching material and lecture are used interchangeably.

Although the present disclosure has been described with severalembodiments, sundry changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, andmodifications can be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it isintended that the disclosure encompass all such changes, substitutions,variations, alterations, and modifications falling within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, for providing an uninterrupted teachingsession through use of a touch screen display device equipped with ashort range communication unit, a long range communication unit, and acontroller, comprising: determining, by the controller, a status of aconnection to a remote server via the short range communication unit;determining, by the controller, a status of a connection to the remoteserver via the long range communication unit; turning on, by the shortrange communication unit, a WiFi base station capability if theconnection to the remote server via the short range communication unitis unavailable and a connection to the remote server via the long rangecommunication unit is also unavailable; and communicating, via the WiFibase station capability, with at least one student device.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising receiving teaching material from aportable storage device connected to the touch screen display device. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the portable storage device furthercomprising a portable library in which the teaching material isencrypted and indexed.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein only thepreviously selected the teaching material is made available for theuninterrupted teaching session.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising monitoring connection to the remote server through the shortrange communication unit and the long range communication unit while theWiFi base station capability is turned on.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a command from the touch screen displaydevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying astudent display area on the touch screen display device for the at leastone student device.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the studentdisplay area is connected to a connection port on the touch screendisplay device.
 9. A non-transitory computer readable memory have a setof computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by acontroller in a touch screen display device, cause the touch screendisplay device to: determine, by the controller, a status of aconnection to a remote server via a short range communication unit inthe touch screen display device; determine, by the controller, a statusof a connection to the remote server via a long range communication unitin the touch screen display device; turn on, by the short rangecommunication unit in the touch screen display device, a WiFi basestation capability if the connection to the remote server via the shortrange communication unit is unavailable and a connection to the remoteserver via the long range communication unit is also unavailable; andcommunicate, via the WiFi base station capability, with at least onestudent device.
 10. The set of computer-executable instructions of claim9, further causes the touch screen display device to receiving teachingmaterial from a portable storage device connected to the touch screendisplay device.
 11. The set of computer-executable instructions of claim10, wherein the portable storage device further comprising a portablelibrary in which the teaching material is encrypted and indexed.
 12. Theset of computer-executable instructions of claim 11, wherein only thepreviously selected the teaching material is made available for theuninterrupted teaching session.
 13. The set of computer-executableinstructions of claim 9, further cause the computer to monitorconnection to the remote server through the short range communicationunit and the long range communication unit while the WiFi base stationcapability is turned on.
 14. The set of computer-executable instructionsof claim 9, further cause the computer to receive a command from thetouch screen display device.
 15. The set of computer-executableinstructions of claim 9, further cause the computer to display a studentdisplay area on the touch screen display device for the at least onestudent device.
 16. The set of computer-executable instructions of claim11, wherein the student display area is connected to a connection porton the touch screen display device.